DESIGNA Impulse January 2020, Ed.1: Trends in parking 2020 (USA) and DESIGNA’s Largest Installation to date 

January 20, 2020

 

 

 

 

DESIGNA Impulse January 2020, Ed.1: Trends in parking 2020 (USA) and DESIGNA’s Largest Installation to date 

 

 

Kiel, 2020-01-20: At the beginning of 2020, we venture a look at the parking trends of the year, written by Steve Gorski. The CEO of DESIGNA USA shares his insights on key trends in the parking industry today – covering digital transformation, customer experience and data analysis. Also: Read about DESIGNA’s major project at New York’s four airports in cooperation with the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey, which is nearing its successful completion and get first impressions from our new DESIGNA India operations. 

1. Key Trends in the Parking Industry Today 

By Steve Gorski, CEO of DESIGNA USA 

Businesses are in continuous change – and this is also the case for the parking industry. Entering 2020 is a perfect opportunity to take a quick look at the upcoming items that will influence our industry. We have identified five trends that will have a short and long-term impact. DESIGNA’s strategical and operational activities in 2020 will reflect these big trends. We are looking forward to sharing our ideas and solutions to convert changes into your business opportunities. 

Digital Transformation – Cloud-based, seamless and frictionless solutions are all components of the digitization of the parking industry and the changing needs of today’s parkers. Customers rely on their smartphones for finding, evaluating and booking parking. Payment for parking moves away from coins and bills to cards and online payment services. Parking operators reduce staff and invest in automation and digital control of their parking systems. The paper ticket is becoming a thing of the past, with other means of identification such as license plates, Bluetooth emitters or QR codes gaining relevance and market acceptance. 

Customer Experience – Customer experience is the number one trend driving decisions in many vertical markets within parking today. Customers want the same frictionless and stress-free experience for parking as they have when utilizing Uber or mobile apps for hotel check-in and digital keys. Within the hospital vertical for example, parking is the first and last impression patients and visitors have of a hospital visit, and the parking experience clearly impacts the overall patient experience and subsequently each hospital’s overall rating. To add to the optimal parking experience, customized graphics on a large color TFT display can show a variety of digital content, including available spaces/guidance by level, rates and other hospital-specific information or videos. 

Data Analytics – Everyone is leveraging data to make better business decisions and improve the customer experience. Parking operators can benefit from data analytics to more efficiently and accurately manage their parking operations. Data provide precise information regarding parking occupancy, average time to park and average time to exit, for understanding and analyzing parking volume over time, enforcement and the potential of implementing dynamic pricing. Data analytics are also critical for ensuring a positive customer experience 

Internet of Things – From smart cities to smart homes, the Internet of Things is affecting our daily lives. This is also the case in parking where we see connected cars and devices such as sensors, parking meters, smart parking and guidance, cellphones and digital signage. Data can be shared across various platforms through APIs. For example, organizations can easily integrate their internal security/access system for managing access control for staff. Security credentials can be automatically shared with the parking system – eliminating the need for double data entry and thus providing the ultimate in parking access control and accurate counts of transients and staff. 

Mobility – Many industries will be impacted by the significant changes predicted for mobility, and parking is certainly one of them. While parking will change, it will still remain very necessary. For example, what will you do with your autonomous vehicle when you are at work? How and where will consumers charge electric vehicles? Many experts predict parking “hubs” positioned on the outskirts of cities. Customers would then utilize different transportation modalities for first and last mile journeys. 

https://info.designa.com/trends-in-parking-management-in-2020 

2. DESIGNA’s Largest Installation to date: The Port Authority of New York 

In 2016, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) awarded DESIGNA the largest airport PARCS replacement project ever undertaken. The contract is in excess of $70 million and replaces the Parking Access and Revenue Control Systems at all four of the Port Authority’s international airports. 

The three-year project launched in 2017, with phased installation beginning in 2018, plans to replace parking systems at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), three large hub airports that process a combined 7.8 million parking transactions and over $250 million in revenue annually. The project also includes New York Stewart International Airport (SWF), a public and military airport run by the Port Authority. 

Phased implementation and installation of the new DESIGNA PARCS solution, configured to meet the specific requirements of the Port Authority, was completed at LaGuardia Airport in 2018 and has been operating for over a year now. The installations at Newark Liberty and Stewart International Airports were then completed on-target in 2019, while work at JFK International Airport is already more than half finished. 

Paul McIlvride, Vice President of Major projects for DESIGNA USA, has led the three-year project. “The program is on schedule to be completed in March of 2020,” states McIlvride, who adds, “New York winter weather permitting, of course.” 

For Peter Carbonaro, the Port Authority’s Manager of Airport Access Programs, one of the major considerations in choosing DESIGNA was its “future-proof” architecture. “DESIGNA’s modular architecture and system design give the Port Authority the flexibility to expand our enterprise and incorporate today’s latest technology, as well as tomorrow’s emerging technologies,” says Carbonaro. “Being future-proof is essential in maximizing the life expectancy of our investment.” 

Kyle Sundin, Manager of Airport Parking and Revenue Systems for the Port Authority, stated that additional objectives were increased automation and next-level customer service and system capabilities. “Automated parking facilities can offer minimal effort and maximum convenience for customers while making better use of space,” says Sundin. “The latest parking technology can decrease costs, increase profitability, streamline operations and increase the efficient use of airport parking services.” 

The new enterprise system includes pre-booking, E-Z Pass RFID functionality, and numerous new electronic payment options. The Port Authority is moving towards its plans for completely automated, cashless exit lanes. The new In/Out payment capabilities allow both ticketless and ticketed payment on both entry and exit by a number of payment methods, including EMV credit card and mobile apps. An automatic pre-booking parking system enables ticketless parking with online reservations and prepaid mobile QR codes. E-Z Pass payment and mobile pay options such as Apple Pay and Samsung Wallet are also available for parkers. 

Entry and exit plaza cameras are providing Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) to link 

individual vehicles to their actual time of entry and exit and to ensure proper fee calculation. A Mobile License Plate Inventory (MLPI) solution has also been implemented to provide Port Authority operations and public safety personnel and parking customers with the location of individual vehicles within the parking facilities. Variable message signs and parking space guidance systems provide customer convenience in communicating space availability, traffic flow requirements, seasonal messages and other useful messaging. 

“Automated parking and smart parking technologies will expand electronic payment options and take the revenue control system to a new level,” says Sundin. “This will allow airport parking to evolve from a logistical exercise to a customer service and revenue opportunity.” 

https://info.designa.com/designa-largest-parking-system-installation-for-panynj 

3. DESIGNA India – A story of success 

The exploration of a new DESIGNA market started last year with the foundation of DESIGNA India. Thanks to a great team and reliable parking management solutions, DESIGNA has been able to win more and more tenders here, e.g. to provide a complete parking management solution at Como Plaza, Paryag Raj and Chandigarh Airport. The Indian market is 95%+ driven by ‘Payment at exit’. Traditional parking systems in India utilize payment at exit through a manual pay station, and this method is the most common. Manual operation is also more prevalent in smaller cities. This is quite different to the European market, where payment is carried out at a centralized cash station before the customer gets back in the car to leave the premises. But, also in India, the parking management industry is changing somewhat. This is especially the case for tier 1 cities and large parking premises, e.g. at airports. At the same time, the Indian government is promoting a digital payment option under which payment service providers are playing an increasing role in parking payment through Credit Card, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, PayTM and BT Mobiquick. 

DESIGNA’s parking solution with software-enabled features like pre-booking, mobile payment, C&P and PayTM payment have really made an innovative difference. Even more features such as long-range RFID and integrated LPR functionality have been used in recent DESIGNA parking management solutions. Now, after nine months, customers are very satisfied with service and performance of DESIGNA India. Additionally, a recently won big tender is very satisfied with the performance and guidance to incorporate features that enhance operational performance and help manage business more profitably. 

We are curious and want to know what’s to come. 

https://info.designa.com/parking-management-systems-for-india